Honda says its cars are 'a bit boring'

Three concept cars reveal a 'dramatic change' to the Japanese brand's design direction.

30 November 2011Jonathan Hawley

2011 Honda Small Sports EV Concept Photo:

2011 Honda Small Sports EV Concept Photo:

2011 Honda Small Sports EV Concept Photo:

honda Photo:

honda Photo:

honda Photo:

Honda's Tokyo motor show concept vehicle previews. Photo:

Honda's Tokyo motor show concept vehicle previews. Photo:

Honda's Tokyo motor show concept vehicle previews. Photo:

Honda's Tokyo motor show concept vehicle previews. Photo:

Honda's trio of concept cars unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show mark the end to a "boring" phase in the company's history, according to one of its chief design executives.

Speaking before the show, creative director of Honda's styling design development division Yoshinori Asahi said that after three years of concentrating on "efficient" designs such as the Insight, it was time to let go and provide a bit more visual excitement.

2011 Honda Small Sports EV Concept

"Honda will make a dramatic change," he told Drive through an interpreter after unveiling the three Tokyo concepts.

"But of course, in terms of the mass production vehicle it will take two or three years. Because to begin with we believe that we are an exciting company so we want to actually demonstrate that.

"Frankly speaking we think that in the past few years the cars have been a bit boring," Asahi said. "Please wait for two or three years and then we will be more exciting."

If Honda's plans include a production version of the EV-Ster - the compact, electric open-topped sports coupe previously known as the "Small Sports EV Concept" - or the large, sleek four-door AC-X then Mr Asahi's comments could be right on the money.

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Both concepts feature the latest version of Honda's corporate grille with slimline headlamps incorporated into a long insert.

The AC-X concept is based on Accord running gear and features plug-in hybrid drivetrain while the body has moveable diffusers front and rear to aid aerodynamic efficiency.

Inside, it does away with a steering wheel in favour of a twin-lever steering (TLS) twin joystick set-up that folds away into the instrument panel when the car is in auto-pilot mode, allowing more space to enjoy the car's entertainment systems.

In fact, along with the tiny electric-powered Micro Commuter Concept, none of Honda's three four-wheeler concepts featured a conventional steering wheel. It's something that Honda is looking at for its future cars, and it has carried out tests of TLS prototypes at the Suzuka racing circuit.

"It's not that we are going to completely eliminate the steering wheel, but we are aggressively trying to come up with a new proposal," Mr Asahi said.

While we're unlikely to see any joystick controlled Hondas in the near future, a new Accord due out next year will incorporate some styling elements of the AC-X concept. Further down the track, Honda has already announced it is working on a new NSX as a belated replacement for the 1990s V6-powered supercar.

"We want to go from efficient to exciting," Mr Asahi said. "We'll give you the specific details when those models are released."